Various types and constructions of compound archery bows have been developed over the last several years. Generally, such archery bows are provided with a central handle section to which are joined a pair of outwardly extending bow limbs, and at the end of each of the bow limbs is provided a pulley mounted eccentrically to the tip of the bow limb. The opposed pulleys at the opposed ends of the bow limbs are designed to carry a cable system therebetween, a cable system in turn carrying a stretch of a bow string along the central stretch of the bow. The eccentrically mounted pulleys are designed to accentuate and compound the flexing of the bow limbs bearing the initial as well as the final pull of the bow, which in turn has an impact and an effect on the velocity of the arrow as the same leaves the bow.
In some of the compound archery bows heretofore developed, a series of four wheels are mounted on the archery bow. In such constructions, in addition to the two eccentrically mounted pulleys at the tips of the bow limbs, there is also provided two idler wheels which are carried on the bow limbs adjacent to the positioning of the central handle section. In such constructions, it is intended that the cable system not only be wrapped about the eccentric pulleys, but also be wrapped about the idler wheels and mounted at a point spaced somewhat inwardly from the bow limbs and it has been found that this type of construction further compounds the flexing of the bows and hence has an even further impact upon the velocity of the arrow as it leaves the bow. In other constructions, the compound effect is obtained by only two eccentric pulleys mounted at the tips of the bow limbs. Such types of compound archery bows are generally referred to as "two wheelers" since they only are provided with the two eccentric pulleys. While a two wheeler system is somewhat less efficient than a full four wheel network of the type mentioned hereinabove, there are distinct advantages in that the two wheel approach is basically simpler in construction, puts less strain on the bow limbs during the pull of the bow and the release thereof, and requires very little periodic tuning, and has a built in feed back system which insures that the eccentric wheels will always remain in balance, that is, the eccentric wheels or pulleys will roll over the eccentric mounting thereof at the same point as the bow is drawn. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that where the eccentric pulleys are not properly tuned, and where one pulley turns over the eccentric axis at a point in time different than the other pulley as the bow string is being drawn, the two pulleys will be out of balance and this has a direct impact upon the accuracy and velocity of the arrow as it leaves the bow. Hence, the provision of a two wheel compound archery bow has been prevalent in the art.
As with any compound archery bow, perhaps the most crucial part of the bow relates to the cable system. The cable system is designed to be carried between the two eccentric pulleys and designed to further carry the bow string therebetween. It is therefore the cables which are part of the system which exerts the force on the bow limbs flexing the bow limbs when the bow is drawn. In addition, that portion of the cable which wraps around each of the individual eccentric pulley wheels and joins the bow string at its opposed ends is generally referred to as the "tune length" and, in fact, determines when the eccentric wheels will roll over the eccentric axis thereby to provide the compound effect. In view of the fact that the cable system is subject to wear with use, they must be changed periodically and generally, this ranges at intervals of anywhere from two weeks to a year. Hence, the system by which the cables are strung on the bow is important since it is necessary to frequently replace the cable system and hence, one of the essential features of such a compound bow is to provide a cable system which permits ease of replacement.
Traditionally, the off-end of the cable, that being the end opposite that which is attached to the bow string, has been connected to an eye hook by means of a loop swedged at the cable end. The loop is usually attached to an eye hook on a turnbuckle which thereby makes it possible to adjust the effective length of the cable. This in turn makes it possible to adjust the eccentric wheel balance. The problems which have existed with this system are manyfold. Firstly, the cable must be threaded through a narrow shaft drilled through the long or flat axis of the eccentric pulley wheel and locked into place by tightening down on a hex screw, and then the cable is wrapped around the eccentric pulley to attach to the bow string. As indicated previously, the length of cable which protrudes from and is then wrapped around the eccentric pulley wheel is referred to as the tune length and is very critical since it has a direct effect on the "compound effect" achieved by the bow. It is, therefore, important that the tune length be properly determined so that the bow is properly in tune. In connection with the presently available two wheel systems, the replacement of cables in a manner to achieve a proper tune length has been difficult because it requires the bending of the springy cables at the proper location in order to wrap the same around the pulley wheels, insuring that the hex nut is screwed tight enough to lock the cables in place on the pulley wheels but not so tight as to strip the threads, and finally, it is necessary to then swedge the end of the cable in order to secure the same to the bow. In the past, in order to effect a swedging process, it is necessary to have a fairly large and expensive hand swedging tool. Generally, users of such compound bows must, therefore, take the bows to a dealer or other location where such a swedging tool is located so that the cable system may be strung in order to permit the off-end of the cable to be swedged. As has been indicated above, the two wheeler compound archery bows presently available have been unable to provide users thereof with precut, preswedged cables for replacement due to the problems mentioned above.